Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Behrang Miri: "The song is about human rights and equal right for all people"

Photo: Per Kristiansen

The Melodifestivalen is starting this week and here is an interview with one of the artists from Semifinal 4: BEHRANG MIRI:

Name:Behrang MiriAge: 29Height: 1,86 mFavorite Color: Purple and RedFavourite food: Falafel with halloumi with some ayran to drink, Mexican Tacos (their very popular among all people in Sweden), a Persian dish called “Khoreshte Ghormesabzi” and a Somalian/Ethiopian/Eritrean dish called Injera. Can’t forget pancakes for breakfast with raspberry jam and maple syrup – yummi : ). Actually I like ärtsoppa (peasoup) and tomato soup as well.Shoe Size: 44/45Eye color: brownWhere are you right now? In Malmö, Sweden3 things that makes you happy: My daughter, HipHop and meeting new peopleWhat’s your strangest talent? I actually don’t know. I could turn my arms around in the strangest angles – but I don’t know if that’s a talent. Perhaps some think it is : )Do you have any nicknames? BerroHome alone and your bored. What do you do? I love to watch documentaries and to play different quiz games.What are you really good at? I think I’m quite good in freestyle rapping and I love to study, read and discuss ancient history and historical events.What are you really bad at? To just chill out – it seems like I’m always up to something.Childhood idol: When it came to music Wu-Tang Clan, The Roots, Nas and Talib Kweli. I also need to mention Nelson Mandela. When it came to sports I need to mention Mohammed Ali, Romario, Henke Larsson and Hristo Stoichkov.Tell me something no one knows about you: As a child I was afraid of standing on a stage – that’s something that a lot of people cant imagine today.What would you do if you were invisible? Probably do everything in my power to become visible again : )Favorite movie: I got to pick three: Hurricane with Denzel Washington, a french move called “La Haine” and a Swedish documentary about a musician from Detroit called “Searching for Sugar Man”.Tell me a super power you wish you had: I wish I could travel back in time. Then maybe I could change the awful things and mistakes we have made as human beings. But I could also meet all the great people that made great impact during their time and learn from them.What's your favorite part of your body? My beautiful nose : )Tell me one of your insecurities: I am afraid of heights – but I am trying to overcome that.What is your guilty pleasure? I love milk products like yoghurt, Ice Cream and cake. But that is a guilty pleasure for my stomach cause I’m lactose intolerant. Name a song that never fails to make you happy: Pete Rock and CL Smooth –ReminisceCan you teach me some interesting words in swedish? A lot of conventional Swedish words are very similar to English words so let me give you some words from the Swedish ebonics dictionary:Shiiii den – that means “Hell noooooo”Haffa – just grab or take somethingTugga – when you chill out and just relax.Tell me some of your bad habits: I have a sweet tooth – I love godis (Swedish candy) and baklava.When did you start singing? Well I’m a rapper and I start rapping when I was about 12-13 years old.If you were the journalist what would you ask to Behrang Miri? and tell me your answer.So Behrang, tell me more about your name?Well actually I’m named after the Iranian author Samad Behrangi who was famous for working for human rights and democracy.

Photo: Per Kristiansen

Hello, the Melodifestivalen 2013 is getting closer, how do you feel right now?I’m feeling great and excited to spread some food for thought and nice vibrations to the audience.How would you describe yourself as an artist? A conscious artist with an eclectic sounds that like’s to deliver some “food for thought”. I love to create fusions between different musical genres and between different languages and cultures. Music does not see any barriers. When I’m up on the stage is all about interacting with the audience and to both deliver a message and to receive some feedback as well.

You are one of the 32 artist in MF 2013. How did it all begin?My A&R at EMI Music Sweden asked me if I was interested to deliver and pitch a song for the Melodifestivalen.At first I hesitated cause I had never imagined my self competing in the Melodifestivalen before. But recent years the competition has expanded and today you could see more artists such as Salem Al-Fakir and Loreen who won Eurovision last year competing in the contest. Due to this the competition today has opened up for a broader span of different musical genres. That’s why I stopped hesitating and jumped on to work on a track to pitch to the festival. I was also tempted to be a part of it all because of the fact that the whole final of the Eurovision contest will be in Malmö, which is the City I represent and live in.It’s also a great platform to reach out to a certain audience that perhaps never listened to my music before.

He specifically wanted me to deliver the type of music and song that I really like to vibe to. So I started to work on the track together with Anderz Wretow, Firas Razzak and Tacfarinas Yamoun. Tacfarinas is originally from Algeria and Firas from Irak. Anderz is Swede and I’m originally from Iran. So what we did was to mix all the musical traditions and different genres that we grew up with. That’s the story behind the scene and it’s an honor for us to be a part of this journey.

Jalla dansa sawa is the title of your song. What can you tell me about it? What is the song about? “Jalla Dansa Sawa” means “Come on lets dance”. It’s a modern rap song. The rhythm of the song is inspired by melodies from the Mediterranean, North African and Middle Eastern countries. The rap is in Swedish and the chorus is in French and Arabic.The song is about human rights and equal right for all people and to include all people regardless were you come from, were you live, the color of your skin, your gender etc.

What can you tell me about the performance? What can we expect?A lot of energy and interaction. We want all people to jump around, enjoy, have fun and feel the vibration.

What do you think about the other artists from semifinal 4?There are a lot of great groups and artists in the competition. I wish them all the best of luck.

What do you like about Eurovision?It’s a platform were music which is a universal language connects people from different cultures which is great.

Photo: Per Kristiansen

What do you dislike about Eurovision?Its not a dislike – rather a suggestion that we could also create a “Worldvision” were Europe could be a part of it together with the other continents. Eurovision could be kind of like the European Championship in football and Worldvision could be kind of like the World cup in football.

Apart from Melodifestivalen, what are your plans for this year?To release my new album, write a theater script and continue working with all the things that I do.

Photo: Per Kristiansen

Is there anything you want to say to close the interview?Thank you for the interview. It was an honor to be interviewed by you. I wish you and all the readers the best of luck.
Thanks to Behrang Miri for this amazing interview!! Good luck on the semifinal!